


Mine To Hold

by TrishaCollins



Series: A Place To Belong [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Acxa & Keith (Voltron) are Siblings, Gen, M/M, Post BOM because they finally are catching up on canon beats.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 02:04:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14802269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrishaCollins/pseuds/TrishaCollins
Summary: After the trial with the Blade, Lotor helps Keith clean up and worries about why he would risk so much for information. Acxa and Shiro help.





	Mine To Hold

Of everything he had expected when meeting with these reclusive spies, letting Keith and Shiro go into what could be enemy territory with a time limit on when they could be rescued…well. It was hard on the nerves. There had been no contact with them, only Red’s brief, furious attack on the base.

 

He paced, hands tucked behind his back, watching the Red Lion circle closer to the castle. It wobbled a bit, not flying entirely straight. He tried to tell himself that he was imagining thing. He tried. He really did. But he knew how well Keith flew, and this…this indicated an injury.

 

He wasn’t the only one waiting in the docking bay as the lion lowered her head.

 

Shiro had an arm around Keith’s waist, supporting his weight as they made their way down. Keith was dressed in a dark suit, with blood covering his shoulder.

 

He strode forward immediately, moving to check him over “I am going to stop letting you out of my sight. What happened?”

 

“There was a trial, I passed.” Keith answered, grimacing slightly as Shiro shifted him.

 

“I would hate to see what failure looks like. How much blood have you lost?” He questioned, concerned.

 

“Too much.” Shiro answered, shaking his head. “He could barely fly us back, and he can’t use the arm at all.”

 

“How is this any different from the last time you needed to be rescued?” He questioned, circling them in faint concern to try to get a better idea of how injured Keith was. The tall Galra was silent and standing above them on the ramp, he tried not to bare his teeth in a threat display, but he wasn’t sure if he was successful.

 

Keith curled his lips, a grimace more than a smile. “There’s a difference between a test and getting tortured.”

 

“Really? Because I am not seeing it.” He watched Keith’s feet, close to just scooping his smaller companion into his arms.

  
“Well. Usually if you pass a trial, you get something at the end. I needed to know.”

 

Shiro was frowning down at Keith, clearly concerned. “Yeah, except if you failed this one the stated terms were “or death.””

 

He turned and pinned the tall Galra with a furious look, narrowing his eyes, nearly vocalizing the growl. “To death? What were you thinking? You could have been killed!”

 

“It was just a warning, I don’t think they meant to kill me.” Keith said, trying for dismissive.

 

“Those were the stated terms!” He growled, tightening his grasp on Keith, then loosening it when he winced. Clearly there were other injuries beneath the black suit, not just the mess of his shoulder.

 

Keith set his jaw. “I needed to find my family.”

 

“You already have.” He responded curtly, not thinking, only to see the flush spread over Keith’s cheeks and tears fill his eyes.

 

Shiro looked at him, a small smile curling his lips, approval warm in his eyes. “He’s right.”

 

“And I mean it.” He said, firm. “We care about you greatly, and the decision to face a trial that might end your life….Keith.”

 

Keith nodded, pressing his lips. “I’m sorry. I just…I needed to know.”

 

“I understand.” He tapped Shiro’s shoulder, and somehow they maneuvered Keith into his arms without further jostling Keith’s injuries. “But do not do this again.”

 

Keith settled his head against his shoulder, closing his eyes. “I did it though. I unlocked the blade.”

 

He shot the tall Galra another furious look, then gave Shiro a milder one, questioning.

 

“I’ll introduce him to Allura, take him to the med-bay, I’ll meet you there once we’ve got this handled.” Shiro clasped his shoulder. “He wanted to see you.”

 

“See me?” He questioned, confused.

 

“The suit made me hallucinate. I saw…my dad, and Shiro…and you.” Keith admitted, shyly.

 

“Not content with damaging your body, they invaded your mind? I am not seeing much difference from the last time, Keith.” He circled his thumb against the back of Keith’s skull. “Did you find your answers?”

 

“Not yet. But Kolivan says he will tell me.”

 

“Well, I will make certain he keeps that promise.” He was thankful that he could move so quickly.

 

Keith's ears had maintained the slight point to them, his eyes and teeth suggested that he was Galra, and his skin had maintained the light brush of purple, drawn darker where his marking stood stark against his skin. Familiar, now, even as a slight weight in his arms. Familiar and his, despite this obvious challenge as to who owned the red paladin.

 

Kolivan could roast in the pits of hell for all he cared.

 

Keith was mostly asleep by the time they made it to the medical center, face tucked into his shoulder, the occasional soft snore escaping him.

 

Had the test lasted the entire time they were gone?

 

He moved around the med center, gathering what he needed to pry Keith out of the alien suit – suddenly a necessity, Keith smelled like other Galra and it was bothering him – to tend to the wounds hidden beneath it.

 

Keith muttered at him, but didn’t really protest as he started to gently clean the blood away from his shoulder. By the time he has extracted Keith mostly from the suit, Shiro and Acxa had joined them, smoothing salve and wrapping a wrist that certainly looked sprained.

 

“What was that all for?” Acxa asked softly, settling the fabric to hold the wrist.

 

Keith glanced at her, then ducked his head. “All my life…I’ve. Dad always said she’d come back.” His voice cracked a little. “He was sure of it. I just needed to know who she was, why…she left me.”

 

Acxa’s face softened. “She’s Ranveig’s second in command. You never talked about it, so I thought you either didn’t care or you didn’t remember enough to ask.” Acxa reached out, brushing his hair back from his face, leaning to press her forehead against his. “She kept me with her longer, little brother. She left me when it became inconvenient to have me near.”

 

Keith frowned, confused. “What?”

 

“I’m your sister, idiot.” Acxa’s voice was soft. “Father kept you, and…I left with mother. Though I suppose ‘leaving’ implies a lot less screaming that I remember. You look like her.”

 

“Ranveig is one of Zarkon’s cruelest warlords, even crueler at times than Zarkon himself.” He said gently, covering both of their shoulders with a hand. “If she is a spy as you suspect, she stands at the side of one of the most dangerous creatures the empire has bred; no mother with any love in her heart would take a child there.”

 

Keith shuddered, one hand coming up to brush against Acxa’s cheek, tears escaping his tightly squeezed shut eyes.

 

Shiro stepped forward on the other side, framing the siblings with his body, wrapping an arm around both of them.

 

Keith shuddered, and then a sob escaped him, a soft, lost sound that made his hand tighten on reflex.

 

Acxa drifted forward, burrowing her face into Keith’s intact shoulder, throat opening in a soft purr.

 

“It wouldn’t be safe to try to contact her then?” Shiro offered, quiet.

 

He shook his head, clinging to the siblings. Both his. Both inescapably his.

 

“What’s her name?” Keith mumbled, burrowing closer to Acxa.

 

“Krolia.” Acxa whispered. “You for her, me for dad.”

 

Keith choked, and for a moment it sounded almost like a laugh. “How long were you with her?”

 

“Long enough that I remember her, that I remember you and dad.” Acxa rubbed her cheek against his.

 

Keith settled against her, eyes still closed tightly, body leaning into them. Acceptance wasn’t a part of him yet, but perhaps a process that he had started. A peace that would comfort him. 

 

He could only hope that was true.


End file.
